https://hr.berkeley.

edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/
managing-hr/interaction/diversity/process

Managing Diversity in the Workplace:

Management Process
GUIDE TO MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES

 Preface
 Section 1: Recruiting Staff
 Section 2: Managing Successfully
 Section 3: Interaction in the Workplace
o Chapter 12: Managing Diversity in the Workplace
 Introduction
 Guiding Principles
 Concepts & Definitions
 Management Process
 Resources
o Chapter 13: Communication
o Chapter 14: Team Building
o Chapter 15: Managing Conflict
o Chapter 16: Sexual Harassment
 Section 4: Wellness in the Workplace
 Section 5: Employee Relations and Labor Relations
 Appendix

You have a key role in transforming the organizational culture so that it more closely
reflects the values of our diverse workforce. Some of the skills needed are:

 an understanding and acceptance of managing diversity concepts

 recognition that diversity is threaded through every aspect of management
 self-awareness, in terms of understanding your own culture, identity, biases,
prejudices, and stereotypes
 willingness to challenge and change institutional practices that present barriers to
different groups

It's natural to want a cookbook approach to diversity issues so that one knows exactly
what to do. Unfortunately, given the many dimensions of diversity, there is no easy
recipe to follow. Advice and strategies given for one situation may not work given the
same situation in another context.

Managing diversity means acknowledging people's differences and recognizing these

differences as valuable; it enhances good management practices by preventing
discrimination and promoting inclusiveness. Good management alone will not
necessarily help you work effectively with a diverse workforce. It is often difficult to see
what part diversity plays in a specific area of management.

To illustrate, the following two examples show how diversity is an integral part of
management. The first example focuses on the area of selection, the second example
looks at communication:

Issues
 How do you make the job sound appealing to different types of workers, such as
people with disabilities?
 How can recruitment be effectively targeted to underutilized groups?
 How do you overcome cultural bias in the interviewing process, questions, and your
response?

Strategies
 Specify the need for skills to work effectively in a diverse environment in the job, for
example: "demonstrated ability to work effectively in a diverse work environment."
 Make sure that good faith efforts are made to recruit a diverse applicant pool,
particularly underutilized minorities and women.
 Focus on the job requirements in the interview, and assess experience but also
consider
 transferable skills and demonstrated competencies, such as analytical,
organizational, communication, coordination. Prior experience has not necessarily
mean effectiveness or success on the job.
 Use a panel interview format. Ensure that the committee is diverse, unit affiliation,
job classification, length of service, variety of life experiences, etc. to represent
different perspectives and to eliminate bias from the selection process. Run
 questions and process by them to ensure there is no unintentional cultural or
institutional bias.
 Ensure that appropriate accommodations are made for disabled applicants.
 Know your own cultural biases. What stereotypes do you have of people from
different groups and how well they may perform on the job? What communication
styles do you prefer? Sometimes what we consider to be appropriate or desirable
qualities in a candidate may reflect more about our personal preferences than about
the skills needed to perform the job.
Managing Diversity in the Workplace:
Concepts & Definitions
GUIDE TO MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES

 Preface
 Section 1: Recruiting Staff
 Section 2: Managing Successfully
 Section 3: Interaction in the Workplace
o Chapter 12: Managing Diversity in the Workplace
 Introduction
 Guiding Principles
 Concepts & Definitions
 Management Process
 Resources
o Chapter 13: Communication
o Chapter 14: Team Building
o Chapter 15: Managing Conflict
o Chapter 16: Sexual Harassment
 Section 4: Wellness in the Workplace
 Section 5: Employee Relations and Labor Relations
 Appendix

expand all

Managing Diversity(collapse)
To address diversity issues, consider these questions: what policies, practices, and ways
of thinking and within our organizational culture have differential impact on different
groups? What organizational changes should be made to meet the needs of a diverse
workforce as well as to maximize the potential of all workers, so that Berkeley can be
well positioned for the demands of the 21st century?
Most people believe in the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated. The
implicit assumption is that how you want to be treated is how others want to be
treated. But when you look at this proverb through a diversity perspective, you begin to
ask the question: what does respect look like; does it look the same for everyone? Does
it mean saying hello in the morning, or leaving someone alone, or making eye contact
when you speak?

It depends on the individual. We may share similar values, such as respect or need for
recognition, but how we show those values through behavior may be different for
different cultures. How do we know what different cultures need? Perhaps instead of
using the golden rule, we could use the platinum rule which states: "treat others
as they want to be treated." Moving our frame of reference from an ethnocentric view
("our way is the best way") to a culturally relative perspective ("let's take the best of a
variety of ways") will help us to manage more effectively in a diverse work
environment.